


Call of the Dragons

by AiaPhoenix



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AiaPhoenix/pseuds/AiaPhoenix
Summary: My (bad) take on Zarc's Origin.
Kudos: 8





	Call of the Dragons

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that not everything written here will align with canon because it's, well, an AU.

Zarc had never been particularly well-liked in his village, always being looked at as an outcast because of his weird looks. He didn't really blame them and whenever he looked in the mirror, he really didn't know who he was supposed to see. Something felt weird.

He had dyed his hair, once, and that had made it better but only for a short time. He had still been viewed as an outcast, his former appearance burned into all of their brains.

It wasn't like his parents had abused him, that wasn't it, but they weren't really _paying attention_ to him either. The most they did was glance in his direction distastefully. Zarc could do whatever he wanted, he never got scolded or praised. Usually scoldings were just reactions like, _we expected this. What's new?_

That was when he had tried to change his appearance, his image– to become a rebel that was viewed as something more than a mere bother. It never worked, so he quickly gave up.

So here he was, walking down the street alone as a twelve-year-old, not getting bothered by anyone besides some remarks that he learned to dismiss quickly, reminding himself that that would end once he could work and move out of this place.

Suddenly, he heard a faint voice calling out for help and Zarc with his foolish heart thought that he had to see what was going on. Even if he was twelve, he could still do _something_ , right?

But when he arrived, there was only a lone card lying on the streetwalk, forgotten and alone. He quickly noticed that it was a Duel Monsters card, the game everyone was talking about but he couldn't afford. Or, well, his parents most likely could, they weren't poor at all, but he was too afraid to ask.

Zarc looked around, trying to see who had called for help, but seeing no one. His eyebrows furrowed and he turned around to leave, but something stopped him. He turned back around and stared at the card.

Then, he slowly bent down to pick it up and regarded the poor thing in pity. It wasn't like it was actually alive, but it was a bit dirty around the edges. Someone tore into the top of the card too. _Odd-Eyes Dragon._

* * *

He tried making the card pretty again, but that really just meant dusting the dirt off and using tape on the backside of the card to repair it just a bit. After he did that, he felt satisfied, happy even and it threw him off a little. Why was he feeling happy over a messily-repaired card?

Dismissing it, he put the card to the side and worked on his homework for the next day.

Weirdly, that kept happening to him in the next few days. It was if he had started an unbreakable chain of abandoned cards somehow finding him. They were mostly monster cards, but some of them were trap and spell cards that were just lying near them anyway, so he picked them up anyway. It became his new hobby after school, searching for broken or just plain abandoned cards, glad that he had something to do before he had to go back to his empty home.

He had also found two more dragon-type cards. A dark-type monster called Darkwurm and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, that reminded him a bit of Odd-Eyes, so his child-mind decided to put them beside each other. Darkwurm had just been abandoned on the sidewalk a while ago as it seemed because there was no visible damage, but Dark Rebellion had not been so lucky. A corner had been torn off completely, but he still tried to give it a makeshift corner by taping a bit of black paper onto the card. It wasn't the best, but he tried.

And he had the feeling that the card liked it, too. Or, at the very least appreciated it.

This was how he mostly spent his days, until he had so many cards that he thought of trying to make a deck. And, well, informing himself about the game overall. Because his cards seemed to want him to do that too, even if that seemed silly, it just felt _right_.

A few days later, he found Clear Wing Synchro Dragon in the trash. Zarc almost went up to the owner and punched them in the face with his small hands when he saw them taking out their trash, card in it.

And then, he found Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. It was a bit water damaged, which made it a bit permanently wavy once dried. When Zarc had found it, he had asked if the dragon, as a plant monster, shouldn't enjoy water but Zarc flinched back because he was _sure_ he had heard something akin to a hiss. Basically, Starving Venom had been a bit hostile before the others calmed it down(?).

And suddenly, once the four dragons were at home beside each other, something in him felt completed.

So from then on, he started to look up things about Duel Monsters on the internet, how the game worked and looked at where he could buy cards – but he needed money for that, so he had to wait until he could do a part-time job. He – they felt sad.

Zarc just got used to the feeling of... the cards communicating with him with feelings. Even if he hallucinated everything, it still felt nice to be wanted. He started to take them with him to school, so that he wouldn't be completely alone. Odd-Eyes always seemed to encourage him whenever he didn't want to go to school. Clear Wing was worried, furious at anyone that even looked at him the wrong way and while Starving Venom was just as protective as Clear Wing, Starving Venom felt calmer than the other dragon. More... well, venomous.

(That didn't mean that Dark Rebellion wasn't protective, just that he was usually more subdued in his temper than the others. And Odd-Eyes only ever got incredibly sad when the others lost it, so that they usually calmed down soon enough.)

Sometimes, Zarc wondered if they were siblings but that just seemed silly to him.

When he first looked them up on the internet, he was surprised to find out that they... didn't actually officially exist. New cards, then? But that didn't make sense either, why would they just throw those away? Wouldn't they be pretty rare, then? If not even the internet knew about them?

(That's when he found an article about the theory that cards actually had souls in them. He thought back to all the feelings and silent conversations they had with him and thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't hallucinating after all.)

* * *

A few years later, he took on a part-time job to be able to buy the cards that he needed to build his own deck. He continued doing it, even if it was exhausting to go to school and work at the same time. The others worried, but Zarc wouldn't relent. He knew that they wanted to be used very badly.

(Rumors of Real Solid Vision started floating around the internet and Zarc couldn't help but hope. Would he be able to touch his dragons? Feel them? Fly through the sky with them?)

The moment he finally had his deck in his hands, he had been happier than ever, his dragons celebrating with him. Although their first duel at a local cardshop didn't go well because he was too busy admiring his beautiful cards and how happy they all felt, that didn't matter to them too much. They were still learning and they would continue to do so, together.

He went to the so-called Duel Monster capital about three months later, wanting to know what a _real_ duel looked like, holograms and all. A famous duelist called Ray was dueling against another person, making the crowd go wild. Zarc admired her and her ability to get the crowd so fired up. For the few hours he watched her duels, he felt like nothing else mattered and he could feel his dragons' admiration too.

After it was over, Zarc decided that he wanted to become someone like her.

Later, he had the idea of making duels even more entertaining, kinda like in a circus. He was a bit shy, but his dragons encouraged him that it would be great. So he practiced alone and eventually, started enjoying it a lot. Now he only needed a crowd.

Zarc started out going to another city every other weekend to perform in a park, where no one knew him and while it was a bit awkward at first, he slowly learned to love it– and especially the crowd. He felt appreciated by people other than his dragons for the first time.

He decided that he wanted to move out as soon as he became an adult and started saving up even more money, also putting a hat onto the ground while he was dueling. He didn't force people to give him money, but he still appreciated it a lot when they did.

When the Real Solid Vision system emerged, created by someone by the name of Akaba Leo, he was more than happy. Seeing monsters come alive on the field, even if they were still controlled by other people– it was a dream come true. Even if it pained him, he took money out of his savings and bought the new duel disk.

Zarc registered for the next bigger competition that included all of his surrounding cities, wanting to see how far he had come, wanting to prove himself and his dragons to the world– and surprisingly, it worked. He won, won and won again– but the most important thing was that the crowd was _happy_ , that his entertainment dueling that not many had even thought of before had actually _worked_.

Not only that, but he could be face-to-face with his precious dragons for the first time! He had stopped mid-sentence the first time he had summoned Odd-Eyes, had been able to pat his head, had been able to _ride on him_ – It had all been so overwhelming, but yet so _right_. (That, of course, meant that his other monsters were jealous and wanted to be used just as much as Odd-Eyes, but he told them again and again that not using them as much as Odd-Eyes didn't mean that he didn't love them just as much.)

Real Solid Vision might make him a bit nervous sometimes because it could make a lot of damage which is why he was especially careful when he attacked people, but it was all worth it in the end.

Sometimes, he heard people talk about how they had seen one of his shows before– before the championship. And it made Zarc and his dragons proud. So, so, proud.

And then they won and got celebrated even more. He was interviewed directly after on live television and he answered every question truthfully. Where was he from? What got him interested in Duel Monsters? **Any idea why you keep winning?**

Zarc had considered lying, but then decided to say the truth, knowing how satisfied his cards would be despite it making him look like a lunatic, “I can hear the voices of my monsters.“

And indeed, his cards were satisfied. But no one seemed to question his answer either, just accepting it as is.

When he went home, his parents paid attention to him for the first time ever, asking him how the trip was, why he didn't tell them where he was going and what he wanted to have for dinner.

His monsters, especially the dragons and Starving Venom, didn't like that, but it wasn't like there was anything Zarc could do about it, so he accepted his parents' temporary kindness, asking himself when it would stop again and if that would break his heart even more.

The people at school starting treating him differently too. Zarc didn't really know why winning the competition made him such a celebrity because it wasn't even a championship that included all of Japan, just a few cities. Well, around one-hundred. (He was surprised to see that someone had uploaded all of his duels on social media, making them available for everyone. The duel that won him the championship had around ten million views already. It made him nervous, but also incredibly glad.)

Everyone encouraged him to register for the World Championship, the winner getting the right to challenge the champion from last year– Akaba Ray. He didn't hesitate.

His parents supported him for the first time in his life, his monsters were happy, he won the first few rounds of the Championship and everything seemed to be going just fine– until it didn't. Excited by the crowds' cheers, he accidentally went overboard and injured his opponent's arm. Everything went silent and Zarc stared at him in shock, not comprehending what had just happened.

_Did I... just do that?_

His screamed, writhing on the ground in pain.

_They're all going to hate me again._

_Just like it has always been._

His dragons were screaming at him. Some in joy, in satisfaction, some in sadness, in worry. In the back of his head, he felt the monster that injured his opponent apologizing profusely, some other monsters shutting it up fairly soon.

But then, suddenly, just as Zarc's insecurities were getting the best of him, the crowd cheered louder than before and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, even when Odd-Eyes didn't feel like it approved of it at all. But Odd-Eyes' opinion was quickly outruled and thrown to the back of his mind by the approval of the crowd and the gentle reassurance of his other monsters.

It didn't feel right, but at the same time, it was a one-time thing anyway, right? It would be fine.

Zarc made sure to apologize properly later but was waved off by his opponent, who said that this was bound to happen in a duel at some point and that Zarc had nothing to apologize for. That lifted the burden and guilt off his shoulders just a bit as he returned to his hotel room. Soon after, his parents called to congratulate him for his amazing victory.

At some point, the monsters went quiet, leaving him alone with his thoughts when they felt that he already felt a lot better than before. He knew that the reporters would probably swarm him tomorrow and he should probably prepare himself for that now.

_Was this... really okay?_

He was unable to sleep, plagued by thoughts of the earlier duel that should have ended his career but didn't. The crowd had cheered so much... Surely that wasn't... okay...

Thinking about it now, it was illogical, it didn't make sense– Why would they like it?

Feeling Clear Wing nudge him mentally, he tried to calm down again. It was fine. It would be fine. It was a one time thing.

And with that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Things changed from then on. His monsters grew more and more dissatisfied with dueling other monsters until eventually, some refused to even be put into his deck. He respected their decision, but it just showed him that somewhere along the way, something had gone wrong.

The crowd started to demand more and more and more, and he, as an entertainment duelist, had to deliver if he didn't want to be forgotten. _Abandoned_. After every painful victory, his parents would call him, reassure him that he was doing the right thing, that he was doing great.

_This isn't something they would do if you had never started dueling_ , a traitorous part of his mind whispered to him, coiling around his brain until it took over his thoughts, made him feel less and less guilty and more and more frustrated inside about everything he was forced to do to get the approval of others. To win.

Hurt them more, hurt them more, hurt them _more_!

His monsters grew restless. Worried. _Frustrated_.

They didn't want to hurt their own kin anymore, they didn't want to be used to hurt others anymore! Why couldn't they just duel peacefully, like they had always done prior to the crowd controlling everything their master did– Zarc shook his head. _Calm down. Don't get overwhelmed by their feelings_.

Somewhere along the way, he had become afraid of losing. He couldn't risk losing everything he had built up again, so he had to do what the crowd wanted him to do. At the beginning, everything still felt _wrong_ but over time, those feelings subsided.

Each duel was more brutal than the last, but it weren't just his own. All the other duelists followed suit and slowly, it was even expected of new duelists. Some dropped out, horrified at their practices, but some stayed despite everything, enjoyed it even.

Dark Rebellion had been unsure at the beginning, probably not knowing what to make of everything, but the more the crowd cheered, the angrier it became.

While Clear Wing hadn't been into it from the beginning like Starving Venom, she slowly grew used to it, invited the feelings of excitement that the new duels brought.

Odd-Eyes still didn't approve and was the only one who, despite staying in his deck, didn't think that any of this was right and didn't bear any hatred towards humans.

And soon enough, Zarc's entertainment dueling was all but gone.

* * *

The finale of the World Championship soon arrived. Like always, he defeated his opponent with ease.

_More, more, give us **more**!_

This time, his opponent couldn't even stay conscious long enough to scream because of the pain. Medics took him with them, likely to assess the damage.

As he looked at the huge monitor that displayed him as the winner, his heart twinged before he squashed it into nothingness. A smile quickly spread on his face. Had he... done it?

He had!

He had won!

His monsters cheered, but the crowd was still eerily silent.

Zarc looked around, observing the crowd that was silently staring at him– in disappointment?

W-What?

His shoulders started to shake.

What had he done wrong?

He had done everything they wanted!

(His monsters growled, three dragons most of all.)

Were his parents watching?

“ _ **Was that everything?!**_ “ someone from the crowd shouted and soon enough, many others joined in.

Zarc's heart stilled.

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

“E-Everyone, calm down!“ the organizer of the event screamed, desperately trying to salvage the situation. Some people from the crowd had started trying to throw things at him. It reminded Zarc of an entertainer getting booed out on stage after a particularly bad performance.

So even after everything... it still wasn't enough?

When would it be enough?

(Odd-Eyes started to growl along with his other dragons, then.)

He thought back to the unconscious form of his opponent.

After all this...

“N-Now, let's move onto the award ceremony!“ the organizer said once everyone had calmed down and some Zarc lovers had started to cheer for him to cheer him up, seeing his inner conflict. “To no one's surprise, Zarc moved up the ranks without a single loss– just as expected of our dueling genius!“

Another person came up to give him his reward as Zarc continued to stare ahead blankly.

“Zarc-kun, would you like to say anything?“ the organizer asked him, looking at him with wide, expectant eyes just as confetti started raining down on them.

“You want more?“ Zarc whispered, looking down at the ground. The organizer asked him to repeat himself and he finally looked up, a large grin on his face. “I asked: _Do you want more?!_ “

The screeching in his ears got louder, almost in sync with the sudden loud cheering of the crowd.

He couldn't stop the loud laughter that left his mouth. Didn't want to, either.

_This is their own fault._

_But his parents..._

_**This is exactly what they wanted!** _

He got greedy. But it wasn't like he was the only greedy one, he realized as he looked at the cheering crowd with a grin on his face. “Who wants to challenge me?!“ he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Or are you all afraid to lose?!“

_Their fault._

_Their fault._

_**Their fault!** _

Zarc's head snapped over to where Ray was supposed to sit. Seeing her gone, he snarled in fury.

She was supposed to fight him!

He had won!

He had the right to beat her!

_So where was she?!_

* * *

The next few moments went by in a blur. Before he had completely registered what had happened, he had released his dragons in a fit of rage and let them do as they pleased. He didn't expect them to be able to destroy anything, but when he saw it happen with his own eyes, he couldn't help but smile even more.

Was this enough?

He looked around.

No crowd anymore.

Some corpses were staring at him with their eyes wide open.

Ah.

_Their fault._

_It's not your fault, child._

_It was their own fault._

Zarc shook his head, dispersing the thoughts invading his mind. Something like this had never happened before, he had never felt closer to his dragons, it was– it was–

It was _amazing_!

(A small part of him was still horrified at what he was allowing his dragons to do, never having wanted any of this, but that part was quickly shoved to the back of his mind in favor of getting lost in his current craze.)

He felt like he could do anything! He didn't have to lose anymore! He _wouldn't_ lose anymore!

He didn't know how much time had passed before the call of his dragons grew louder, wanting to do _something_ –

And then, he fused with his dragons into the creature now known as Z-ARC. (He had to differentiate between his old and his new identity because from whatever angle you looked at it, Z-ARC wasn't the same as Zarc.)

When Ray finally came out of hiding, he was ecstatic, itching for a real challenge– because she was the only one his mind still registered as _stronger_ and he had to prove himself. Had to prove the world that _it was enough_. That _he_ was enough.

She stared at him determinedly, shouting at him to _stop this, Zarc! I know you're not that kinda person! Can't you see what you're doing?! You're hurting everyone! Aren't you an entertainment duelist?!_

But he wasn't Zarc anymore, and he had long since lost his compassion for the people that urged him to do more and more and _**mORE**_ –! They roared in anger and Ray stepped back. But even when she did that, she didn't look intimidated or like she would give up.

(And for the first time in a while, they felt inferior to a human, the human known as Ray.)

Odd-Eyes was the first to snap out of it, screeching and nudging at Zarc's consciousness to snap him out of his mental daze as well, but his mind continued to stay clouded by anger, fear and despair. One after another, his other dragons snapped out of their rage in favor of starting to become terrified of whatever Ray had planned– they could _sense the danger_.

And as Ray activated the cards that were designed to destroy him, something in the back of his mind laughed at him, telling him that _this was what he had wanted, right?_ To fight against Ray? He had won the Championship and now he had gotten the duel he had always wanted to have, that he had always dreamed of since the day Ray had inspired him.

He swore to come back to take revenge as he and his dragons screamed out in pain. (He didn't _want this_.)

He woke up in a white space.

Looking around in curiosity, he noticed that his mind was clear again. It didn't have a weird haze over it anymore that amplified his emotions. He felt calm.

“Odd-Eyes?“ he called out hesitantly. “Dark Rebellion? Clear Wing? Starving Venom?“

No one answered.

Zarc slumped to the ground, blank eyes staring right ahead into the endless white that only seemed to distort somewhere in the distance. Now sitting on the ground, he took a deep breath and tried not to think about whatever had happened earlier. He didn't particularly feel guilty over this.

But he still hadn't wanted it.

_I'm sorry for dragging you into this._

**Author's Note:**

> I guess I would have a few more ideas for this universe maybe- But I'm really not sure if I'll ever write it down properly (because let's be honest, I'll probably forget about it sooner rather than later) because I'm not too motivated to write long series'.
> 
> (Also, I was pretty sure that this was only 2k words and then... I looked at the actual wordcount. Oops.)


End file.
